A 32-year-old Seattle man died on Mt. Hood Sunday morning after sliding 600 feet down the mountainside.

The climber was near the Hogsback area, just 650 feet from the summit, when he fell.

The Clackamas County Sheriff's office got the first call of a climbing accident at 11:26 a.m. Deputies with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team responded, as did crews with the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol and Portland Mountain Rescue. They located the fallen climber and administered first aid. They called in a helicopter from the Oregon Army National Guard to fly the critically injured man to a Portland hospital.

The patient was pronounced deceased at the hospital.

Mt. Hood's proximity to the Portland area and the fact that climbers can drive directly to its flanks makes the 11,250-foot mountain one of busiest peaks in the world. About 10,000 people attempt the climb every year. Portland Mountain Rescue conducts about 15 rescue missions a year.

The Hogsback, at 10,600 feet, is a snow ridge that climbers ascend to get to Pearly Gates, the steep chutes that are the last serious obstacle before the summit.

The identity of the victim is not being released at this time to allow for family notifications.